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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Pot Pie Redux

Spring is teasing us here. It pops in and then out. A cloudy day with drizzle, but warm enough to work in the yard(construction site) and move a few thousand pounds of rocks. More rocks.They seem to multiply. I'm hungry. Ready for a Hungry Man dinner. Without the chicken.

I posted a recipe for a Vegan Pot Pie a little over a year ago. It was delicious. I wanted to simplify it a bit and I wanted to try it with seitan. I have never made or had seitan. Allegedely it tastes like meat and some vegetarians avoid it because of that. I don't think it tastes like meat. It is high in protein. You can buy it pre-made, make it yourself or buy a mix. Premade is pretty expenseive. The mix is not. And it's easy. You add water, mix it around, knead it for a few minutes, shape it and then simmer it for 45 minutes in broth. Then you chop it up and use it in your recipe.

This is a pretty loose "recipe". Saute your seitan in hot oil until browned. Remove and set aside. Saute some chopped onion , some herbs, garlic, celery and carrot in three tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes with a sprinkling of salt. Add peeled, diced potatoes, a bit of vegetable stock and cover for about 10 minutes until your vegetables are soft but not mushy. Add a handful of frozen peas,some frozen corn and the browned seitan.

Stir in three tablespoons of flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of any raw flour flavor. Slowly add two cups of vegetable stock and 1/2 cup of red wine. Stir and bring to a boil. Add some lemon juice to brighten the flavors a bit of soy sauce or Marmite. Take off the heat and put into an ovenproof casserole dish.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cup flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons baking power to mix. Pulse in 6 tablespoons COLD vegan margarine until the consistency of coarse corn meal. Slowly add 1/2 cup Soy Milk and blend until the mixture comes away from the side of the food processor bowl. Drop by spoonfuls onto the vegetable mixture. Don't worry if the vegetable mixture is not completely covered by the biscuit mixture. It will rise and fill in nicely. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes and then let rest 10 before serving.

Next time you make it, make it with mushrooms and not seitan. I don't know what the hell all the fuss is about. It does not taste like meat. It tastes like rubbery, boiled wheat gluten. Not bad but not what I am craving after a day of moving rocks. The cats seemed to like it though